Adjustable intensity mechanical vibrator



Oct. 11, 1966 J. P. PINSON 3,277,731

ADJUSTABLE INTENSITY MECHANICAL VIBRATOR Filed July 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR. Joseph P. Pinson BY QM-%M Z ATTORNEY Oct. 11, 1966 J. P. PINSON 3,277,731

ADJUSTABLE INTENSITY MECHANICAL VIBRATOR Filed July 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Joseph P. Pinson ATTORNEY United States Patent W 3,277,731 ADJUSTABLE INTENSITY MECHANICAL VIBRATOR Joseph P. Pinsou, Besser Company, Alpena, Mich. Filed July 29, 1963, Ser. No. 298,191 3 Claims. (Cl. 74-87) This invention relates to vibratile bodies in general and, more particularly, concerns a rotatively operated vibration device adapted for attachment to a body to be vibrated and provides various degrees of intensity and amplitude of vibratory movement in accordance with the characteristics of the Work to be performed.

Heretofore, in the vibration of molds into which material is to be packed, off-center or eccentric weights have been employed to compact the moldable contents. Various sizes and shapes of weights have been used on opposite sides of the mold side arms, assembled on rotatable shafts journaled thereon and motor driven through flexible belts. The problem has been one of ease of interchangeability and flexibility of shifting from one set of weights to another dependent on the size and characteristics of the unit being molded and size and type of material to be molded. These weights rotated at high speed and being offcenter, or eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation, must be firmly and securely fixed to their vibrator shafts. Frequently, daily, or more often, the unit type being molded is changed in size and quantity of charge in the mold and production is lost in downtime on mold changes and consequent changes of vibrator shaft assembly and weights for a new work piece. The present invention solves this problem in a novel manner by an adjustable weight vibrator shaft assembly having variable vibration characteristics.

A principal object of the present invention is the provision of a vibratile body, adapted for attachment to a member or mold body to be vibrated, which has a readily adjustable eccentric weight for various degrees of intensity without disassembly of the unit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which can be adjusted for predetermined degrees of intensity according to a marked scale indicia on the weight body; and duplicate, such adjustment on an opposite side of the mold by a similarly marked adjustab-le weight.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which employs a sleeved or yoked eccentric weight having positive locking means and numbered indicia thereon affording accurate and uniform degrees of variable intensity of vibratory energy in a simple efiicient manner with a minimum loss of downtime in effecting changes for work of various size and characteristics.

And still another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which is exceedingly simple in design and construction and which is comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and that may be used as a replacement unit for devices now in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully hereinafter, it being understood that said invention consists substantially in the combination, construction, location and general arrangement of parts, all as described in detail in the following specifica- 3,277,731 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 tion, as shown in the accompanying drawings and as fully pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters refer to similar parts in the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a generally isometric or perspective view of a mold body incorporating one form of adjustable weight vibrator shaft assembly which embodys the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one form of improved vibrator shaft assembly on a large scale;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is another sectional View taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of vibrator shaft assembly employing a yoked weight;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an end view of the device taken on line 77 of FIG. 5.

The compartmented mold box 10, shown in FIG. 1, has mold side arms 11, 11 extended from each side thereof and adjacent the outer ends of the side arms a variable vibrator shaft assembly, generally designated 15, is spanned and fixed thereto by any suitable fastening means. Single or multiple sheave means 17 are fixed to the outer ends of the shafts and have one or more flexible belts 18 trained over the sheaves and extended to a source of driving power, not shown.

In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 one form the vibratile shaft assembly 15 of the present invention may assume consists of a shaft 19 having anular sleeves 20, 21 shrink fitted or firmly fixed non-rotatably thereto in longitudinally spaced relation for convenient placement between mold side arms 11. The annular sleeve 20' has an outer shouldered peripheral section from which short radially spaced studs 24 are extended longitudinally of the axis of the shaft 19. A hollow weight member 26, having an eccentrically disposed inner circular bore, is arranged to slide over the opposite end of the annular sleeve 20 and abut against the outer shouldered peripheral section thereof. Blind stud holes in the adjacent end wall of the hollow eccentric weight 26, complementary in number to the studs 24, re ceive the studs slidably therein. At the opposite end of eccentric weight 26, which is slidably supported on sleeve 21, a snap ring 28 is retained in a peripheral groove 29 of the sleeve 21 to prevent unintentional longitudinal displacement of the weight 26. Bearing block and fastening means 30, are press-fitted and Taperlocked to the shaft 19 for journalling the shaft on mold side arms 11. Sheave means 17 may be keyed, as at 16, or have a Taperlock Ibushing securing it to the outer end of shaft 19, and the belts 18 are trained over said sheave for rotatably driving said shaft.

In use of the device, when it is desired to change the energy development characteristics of the vibratile body :15, to obtain more or less intensity and amplitude of vibration in accordance with the requirements of the work unit being molded, it is only necessary for an operator from the floor and without any machine disassem-bly to use a snap-ring pliers to remove snap-ring 28 and thereafter slide eccentric weight 26 free of retaining studs 24, and rotatively displace the weight to a new stud receiving position as selected from the numbered indicia 1-5 on the outer periphery thereof. From past experience the operator or manufacturer has developed know-how of the necessary amount of vibrational characteristics required of each unit to be molded, and translated into the numbered indicia on the outer periphery of the eccentric weight, later users thereof can utilize this knowledge immediately Without costly downtime for replacement of fixed weights or experimentation of the best sizes and shapes of manually replaceable ones.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, a yoked member 36, is substituted for the sleeves 20, 21 and reoeives an eccentrically bored weight 37 within the yoke in place of weight 25. In this construction, the yoke 36 is heated and a pair of stub shafts 40, 4-1 are shrink fitted into openings in the yoke arms and aligned if necessary. Stub shaft 40 has a hollow inner bore slidably receiving a short shaft '45 with a threaded bore 45a therein. Stub shaft 41 has a hollow bore 4'6 therethrough for sliding reception of a solid shaft 48. *One inner end of shaft 48 is threaded for reception in threaded bore 45a of shaft 45 while the other end is similarly threaded for reception of lock nut 47 and jam nut 49; and the extreme outer end of shaft 48 is turned to form a hexagonal wrenchengaging end 55. Intermediate the yoke 36 and said nut portions 47, 49 is the bearing 30 which is properly secured to said shaft 48 and a hollow annular dial portion 50, with numbered indicia thereon, is pinned to shaft 48 for indexing the shaft to desired degrees. Annular weight 37 has an eccentrically disposed hollow bore extended longitudinally therethrough for reception of solid shaft 48 and a counterbored pocket in one end for reception of a biasing spring 39. The weight 37 is pinnedto shaft 45 and shaft 48 is threaded in tight engagement with threaded counterbore 45a thereof. A series of dentallike teeth 51 are radially spaced on one outer end around the periphery of Weight 37 for engagement with a complemental tooth portion on an adjacent abutting inner end of the yoke member 36. Assembly of the parts appears obvious but it may be mentioned weight 3-7, as shown in FIG. 6, produces maximum vibration and the numbered indicia 15 on dial 50 is calibrated for various degrees of intensity of vibration, after the dial has been indexed and pinned to a zero marking on the shaft 49.

In use of this device, without any disassembly of the vibratile body, the operator loosens lock and jam nuts 47, 49, the biasing spring 39 automatically separates the teeth portions 51 of the weight 37 from the abutting tooth on yoke 36, and by a wrench applied to hex end 55 of shalft 48 precisely sets the weight 37 to the desired numbered indicia on d-ial 50. Thereafter the lock and jam nuts areretightened. A prominent feature of this construction is the ability of the operator to be able to stand in front of the machine on which the device is used and without climbing on the machine to easily and accura'tely make adjustments from the floor. Other uses and advantages are the same as for the previously described unit.

It will be understood, of course, that the invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without any departure from the general principles or real spirit thereof. For example, an annular sleeved member may be employed on the vibrator shaft with a hinged or pivoted eccentric weight portion movable by means of a threaded adjusting hand screw and accompanying visual marking indicia to denote vibration intensity, instead of the interlocked means shown. Accordingly, it is intended to claim the same broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. In a rotatively operated vibration device adapted for attachment to a member to be vibrated, a vibratile body comprising a plurality of rotatably mounted hollow shalft means arranged for demountable connection to said member, a yoked member fixedly mounted along the longitudinal axes of said hollow shaft means for rotation therewith, eccentric weight means having a hollow bore fixedly mounted on one of said hollow shaft means within the confines of said yoked member, a solid shaft axially disposed within said hollow shaft means and extended through the bore of said eccentric weight means and threaded into said hollow shaft means securing the cocentric weight, cooperating dental teeth means on one end of said eccentric weight and on an adjacent abutting end of said yoked member, and axial position locking means on said solid shaft including means permitting locking in selected axial position of said eccentric weight fixed thereto for preselected degrees of eccentricity with respect to the yoke and solid shalft whereby to provide various amounts of intensity and amplitude of vibratory energy in accordance with the characteristics of the work to be performed.

2. In a rotatively operated vibration device adapted for attachment to a member to be vibrated, a vibratile body comprising a plurality of rotatably mounted hollow shaft means arranged for demountable connection to said memher, a yoked member fixedly mounted along the longitudinal axes of said hollow shaft means for rotation therewith, eccentric weight means having a hollow bore fixedly mounted on one of said hollow shaft means within the confines of said yoked member, a solid shaft axially disposed within said hollow shaft means and extended through the bore of said eccentric weight means and threaded into said hollow shaft means securing the eccentric weight, cooperating dental te-eth means on one end of said eccentric weight and on an adjacent abutting end of said yoked member, spring loaded means pocketed in the hollow bore of said eccentric Weight biasing said interlocking teeth for displacement relative to each other, and axial position locking means on said solid shaft upon being released effecting disengagement of said interlocked teeth by said spring action, said axial posit-ion looking means including means permitting adjustable indexing of said eccentric weight means fixed thereto for preselected degrees of eccentricity with respect to the yoke and solid shaft whereby to provide various amounts of intensity and amplitude of vibratory energy in accordance with the characteristics of the work to be performed.

3. In a rotatively operated vibration device adapted for attachment to a member to be vibrated, a vibratile body comprising a plurality of rotatably mounted hollow shaft means arranged for demountable connection to said member, a yoked member fixedly mounted along the longitudinal axes of said hollow shaft means for rotation therewith, eccentric weight means having a hollow bore fixedly mounted on one of said hollow shaft means within the confines of said yoked member, a solid shaft axially disposed within said hollow shaft means and extended through the bore of said eccentric weight means and threaded into said hollow shaft means securing the eccentric Weight, cooperating dental teeth means on one end of said eccentric weight and on an adjacent abutting end of said yoked member, spring loaded means pocketed in the 'hollow bore of said eccentric weight biasing said interlocking teeth for displacement relative to each other, dial means with numbered indicia thereon pinned to said solid shaft, and axial positioning locking means on said solid shaft upon being released efiecting disengagement .of said interlocked teeth by said spring action, said axial position locking means including means permit-ting adjustable indexing of said eccentric weight means fixed thereto for preselected degrees of eccentricity with respect to the yoke and solid shaft whereby to provide various amounts of intensity and amplitude of vibratory energy in accordance with the characteristics of the work to be performed.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 33%,??? Z i e 'rance. 4/1933 Mueller 1,113,540 12/1955 France. 7/1935 50mm 5 948,496 8/1956 Germany. 1/1940 Parks- 295,359 12/1928 Great Bl'itain. 5/1944 Teplow 7 61 650,624 2/195'1 Great Britain. 9/1953 Oswalt 25-4-1 767,960 2/1957 Great Britain. 5/1954 Galbraith 7487 6/1956 Thompson X 10 MILTON KAUFMAN, Primary Exammer. 2/1958 Chanhmd. R. F. WHITE, Examiner. 3/1958 Campbell 2591 BROUGHTON G. DURHAM, DALE A. THIEL, 11/1958 Matterson 74-571 G. A. KAP, Assistant Examiners. 

1. IN A ROTATIVELY OPERATED VIBRATION DEVICE ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO A MEMBER TO BE VIBRATED, A VIBRATILE BODY COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ROTATABLY MOUNTED HOLLOW SHAFT MEANS ARRANGED FOR DEMOUNTABLE CONNECTION TO SAID MEMBER, A YOKED MEMBER FIXEDLY MOUNTED ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXES OF SAID HOLLOW SHAFT MEANS FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, ECCENTRIC WEIGHT MEANS HAVING A HOLLOW BORE FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID HOLLOW SHAFT MEANS WITHIN THE CONFINES OF SAID YOKED MEMBER, A SOLID SHAFT AXIALLY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID HOLLOW SHAFT MEANS AND EXTENDED THROUGH THE BORE OF SAID ECCENTRIC WEIGHT MEANS AND THREADED INTO SAID HOLLOW SHAFT MEANS SECURING THE ECCENTRIC WEIGHT, COOPERATING DENTAL TEETH MEANS ON ONE END OF SAID ECCENTRIC WEIGHT AND ON AN ADJACENT ABUTTING END OF SAID YOKED MEMBER, AND AXIAL POSITION LOCKING MEANS ON SAID SOLID SHAFT INCLUDING MEANS PERMITTING LOCKING IN SELECTED AXIAL POSITION OF SAID ECCENTRIC WEIGHT FIXED THERETO FOR PRESELECTED DEGREES OF ECCENTRICITY WITH RESPECT TO THE YOKE AND SOLID SHAFT WHEREBY TO PROVIDE VARIOUS AMOUNTS OF INTENSITY AND AMPLITUDE OF VIBRATORY ENERGY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORK TO BE PERFORMED. 